I have a laptop that I bought a year ago that came preinstalled with Vista. XP wouldn't install on it (I'm sure there is some hack, but I don't have the time or energy to find it). When this laptop running this crummy OS is up for recycling, I'd be very happy to know that the next one I buy can run in XP mode and all of my software will run nicely.

Hugh Pickens writes: "According to a survey of college students Facebook users have lower overall grades than non-users. The study by Aryn Karpinski, an education researcher at Ohio State University, found that Facebook user GPAs are in the 3.0 to 3.5 range on average, compared to 3.5 to 4.0 for non-users and that Facebook users also studied anywhere from one to five hours per week, compared to non-users who studied 11 to 15 or more hours per week. Karpinski emphasized that correlation does not equal causation and that the grades association could be caused by something else. "I'm just saying that there's some kind of relationship there, and there's many third variables that need to be studied." One hypothesis is that students who spend more time enjoying themselves rather than studying might tend to latch onto the nearest distraction, such as Facebook or that students who use the social networking site might also spend more time on other non-studying activities such as sports or music. "It may be that if it wasn't for Facebook, some students would still find other ways to avoid studying, and would still get lower grades. But perhaps the lower GPAs could actually be because students are spending too much time socializing online." As for herself, Karpinski said she doesn't have a Facebook account, although the co-author of the study does. "For me, I think Facebook is a huge distraction.""

And that's just it. It's a publicity contest. Really, a sort of novelty. If somehow they manage to get something really special they might start doing it every year. But no matter what happens nobody gets hurt, a bunch of people get a trip to New York, and get to perform at a world famous venue.

You can, but you can still see talent through crummy recording devices. That girl is talented (well, more talented than anyone I've known or seen live as an amateur), despite the 'computer on top of some books' recording studio.

NASA is a very closed system. You don't just "get" to become an astronaut because you want to. It's a long and involved project.

What surprises me is that we haven't seen foreign nations with a fair amount of intellectual capital but without a real space program attempt like types of trade with private space endeavors. It could eventually work out to being on a smaller scale, and could promote a more international, global interest in space.

Yes, because there isn't any service out there that lets people share the pointlessness of their lives. Otherwise, so many of its users would see marked improvements over "Going to take the dog to the vet" and spreading this banality to everyone stupid enough to click 'yes' and be added as a friend.